Mexia ISD officials are pleased with the first performance marks they’ve received from the state since 2011, with the district overall returning to passing status after last being deemed unacceptable.

“When you have good news, why keep it all bottled up?” MISD curriculum director Donna Savage said as she shared the district’s ratings with MISD trustees at the board’s Aug. 19 regular monthly meeting.

In early August, Texas’ new rating system – based largely on the two-year-old STAAR testing program – was unveiled for the first time. The new system is more comprehensive than its predecessor, in place since the 1990s, which had four ratings: exemplary, recognized, acceptable and unacceptable.

Districts and campuses now receive one of two ratings: “met standard” or “improvement required.” Almost 93 percent of Texas school districts and charter schools met standard, as did about 91 percent of campuses.